Our Heroes

Dr. Anarkali Kaur Honaryar: Afghanistan's Sikh Heroine

by SAMBUDDHA MITRA MUSTAFI

"It is difficult for a woman to be a pilot in Afghanistan. My father
said it does not fit in with this country's culture," Dr Anarkali Kaur
Honaryar tells me, sitting in her office at the Afghan Independent
Human Rights Commission.

In some ways the high flyer has taken on a challenge much tougher than piloting planes.

She fights for women's rights in a society that remains staunchly
patriarchal, and where many of her gender still breathe beneath their
veils.

In May 2009, the 25-year-old was chosen by Radio Free Europe's Afghan
chapter as their "Person of the Year". The award has made her a
household name in Kabul.

Anarkali Kaur - a trained dentist - is one of about 3,000 Sikhs and Hindus who remain in Afghanistan.

Their number - and their prosperity - has significantly dwindled since 1991 when civil war broke out.

Before then, there were an estimated 50,000 Sikhs and Hindus in this
ethnically diverse country and many ran successful businesses in Kabul,
Kandahar and other cities.

But the outbreak of hostilities meant that most -
including Anarkali's relatives - moved to safer places in India,
Europe and Canada.

She has led campaigns for the civil rights of the
embattled communities who stayed on, including one to get crematoriums
built for their dead.

"Some people still think we are foreigners. They think
we are Indians who are working and living here for a while. But we are
Afghans too, and we should have all the rights and opportunities that
other Afghans have," says the demure yet outspoken doctor.

She has grown up in turbulent times.

In the early 1990s, Afghanistan was a country at war, with no stable central government.

The provinces - including Anarkali's native Baghlan in the north - were ruled by warlords.

To make matters worse, swathes of the country were falling into Taliban hands.

Girls' schools were banned in Taliban strongholds and religious
minorities felt threatened by their extremist Sunni Muslim ideology -
Anarkali Kaur fell into both categories: a female and a non-Muslim.

Fortunately for her, Baghlan did not come under Taliban
rule. She carried on her education in relative freedom and graduated
from high school four years ahead of her peers.

"I am grateful to my parents for supporting my education. Not all Afghan girls have been so lucky," she says.

Once the Taliban were overthrown in 2001, Anarkali went to Kabul
University to study medicine. She was part of the Loya Jirga (grand
council) that selected the interim government to replace the Taliban.

"The situation for women has improved since the Taliban
days. Now if the Karzai government does not listen to us, at least we
can appeal to human rights groups," she says.

And so she joined the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission in 2006.

"They know I am a Sikh but they still trust me with their most personal
problems," she says of the hundreds of mostly Muslim women she meets.

"The culture here is loaded against women. We try to solve their problems, but we also need to change the laws."

Awareness of existing laws is also at a premium here - the female literacy rate is less than 20%.

Anarkali recounts how an illiterate woman had travelled a long way
to Kabul to meet her. The woman's husband wanted to divorce her when
she was expecting their child.

"She didn't know that Afghan laws state a husband
cannot divorce his pregnant wife. He has to wait till the child is at
least two months old. We helped her secure her rights," she says, with
a hint of pride.

While conferences have taken her to different parts of
the globe, Dr Anarkali Kaur Honaryar regrets not travelling enough in the land of her
ancestors - Punjab and India.

A visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar - Sikhism's
holiest shrine - is top of her to-do list. And of course, the Taj
Mahal.

[Courtesy: BBC]

February 11, 2010

Conversation about this article

Anarkali ji: I am fascinated by the process of purifying gold. They take a chunk of gold that they have found in the earth, and put it in a crucible (a really freakin' hot pot!). They can add in lead, which, coupled with the heat, strips away much of the gold's impurities. The impurities then rise to the top of the crucible and form what is called "crud". The goldsmith then skims the surface, removing the "crud". This process continues and more crud is removed until you have a pure piece of Gold that is now ready to be used to make precious jewellery. Now the thing that really interests me, is that in order for the gold to become pure, you add a lesser metal ... lead. This acts as the object that strips away the impurities, along with the heat. Now, Anarkali ji, look at your life. As I look at mine, I now see that God has allowed people, places and things to come in one's life to act as lead that will strip away some of the impurities. And He turns up the heat of the circumstances for sure! My tendency is to want to JUMP out of the crucible, but I will be extending whatever pain is in my life until I wait patiently on the Waheguru, and try to pull a lesson out of what I am going through. Anarkali Kaur ji: you are the gold of our community!

Although it is a moment of pride for the Sikh community to see a Khalsa Lotus amid the religious quagmire, but at a personal and social level it should also be an opportunity for us to analyze what else and how much more could the Sikhs of prosperous nations be able to do to help our community in needy conditions and what will be the overall impact of such investment in the global Sikh diaspora and how to achieve the best objective with minimal wastage of resources.

It is a tough time for her and she manages well and adorably. Somebody has to stand up to gracefully remove the veil of ignorance and educate mankind that the souls of all people are from the same God. One shouldn't disrespect the views and values of others. May Akal Purakh bless her with more strength and courage to fight ignorance.

I think it is difficult for Anarkali to promote Human Rights here, but I know she is working strongly and she is an active member of AIHRC. Last night I saw a particular report that Anarkali is working on Sikh rights in Afghanistan and she wants the lands and property of Sikh-Afghans to be returned to them. I appreciate her work. Land dispute is the biggest and critical issue in Afghanistan. It is especially appreciated that Anarkali is also working for the human rights of all Afghans. We have to support her and respect her.

Here in Kurukshetra University we have a lot of Afghanis studying here and the biggest thing is they don't know who Hindus are but they know about Sikhs. Yes, they have many Sikh friends in Afghanistan. Thanks to our identity.

Dr. Anarkali Kaur is a brave lady who has adopted a challenging mission to defend human rights/ women's rights in a society where so many hurdles are ahead on the way to carry out her obligations and responsibilities. As an Afghan, she is really a honour for our society in general and for the Sikh Community in particular. We wish her great success, including in her attempt to restore the lands and properties of Sikhs usurped by warlords in Kabul or other provinces of Afghanistan. We are supporting her and will be on her side.

Ma'am, you are doing a great job in such critical situations and I thank God that there is some one in that country to help minorities. Ma'am, recently I have seen a documentary about Sikh and other minority children not able to go to school and I felt terrible for them.

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